Control method of washing machine

ABSTRACT

A control method of a washing machine including receiving purpose data of laundry, determining an operating course based on the purpose data of the laundry, and controlling washing of the laundry according to the determined operating course. The operating course is determined by confirming a material of laundry and predicting kind and amount of contamination of the laundry based on the purpose data of the laundry, thereby performing proper washing according to the purpose of the laundry whenever washing of the laundry is performed. Further, proper washing is performed according to the kind and amount of contamination of the laundry, thereby improving utility of the washing machine. Contamination degrees of wash water and rinse water during washing and rinsing cycles are detected, and a washing time and a frequency of times of the rinsing cycle are adjusted based on the contamination degrees, thereby increasing washing efficiency.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2010-0099942, filed on Oct. 13, 2010 in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to a control method of a washing machine whichcontrols an operating course.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, washing machines are apparatuses which apply energy, such asimpact, to laundry to remove contaminants therefrom. Washing machinesare divided into pulsator washing machines, agitator washing machines,and drum washing machines according to the way in which energy isapplied to laundry.

A pulsator washing machine washes laundry using a water current obtainedby rotating a disc-shaped pulsator, an agitator washing machine washeslaundry by rotating a blade-shaped agitator protruded from the center ofa washing tub in leftward and rightward directions, and a drum washingmachine washes laundry by applying impact to the laundry throughtumbling thereof within a rotating drum.

A washing machine performs a washing cycle to wash laundry with water inwhich a detergent is dissolved, a rinsing cycle to rinse the laundrywith clean water, and a spin-drying cycle to remove water from thelaundry.

Such a washing machine performs the respective cycles withoutconsideration of kinds of the contamination and interaction with thedetergent under the condition that defects, such as fraying and fading,frequently occur during washing of the laundry, thus being incapable ofachieving effective washing of the laundry.

Further, since the washing machine performs the respective cyclesaccording to one selected from operating courses, which are set inadvance, by a user, washing of the laundry according to specificcontamination characteristics thereof may be impossible.

Such a washing machine does not correctly recognize various kinds ofcontamination, which are combined and present in the laundry, thusreducing washing efficiency and utility thereof.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect to provide a control method of a washingmachine in which, when purpose data of laundry are received, anoperating course is determined based on the received purpose data of thelaundry.

It is another aspect to provide a control method of a washing machine inwhich a contamination degree of wash water during operating of thewashing machine in an operating course based on purpose data of laundryand then at least one of mechanical power applied to removecontamination during a washing cycle, such as an operation factor of amotor and an RPM of the motor, a washing time, a washing temperature, anamount of wash water, a frequency of times of rinsing, an amount ofrinse water, and a spin-drying velocity is adjusted.

It is another aspect to provide a control method of a washing machine inwhich kinds and amounts of detergents required during a washing cyclebased on purpose data of laundry are displayed.

It is a further aspect to provide a control method of a washing machinein which amounts of detergents required during a washing cycle based onpurpose data of laundry are determined and amounts of the detergentsstored in a detergent box are adjusted and then supplied to the insideof a drum.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the invention.

In accordance with one aspect, a control method of a washing machineincludes receiving purpose data of laundry, determining an operatingcourse based on the purpose data of the laundry, and controlling washingof the laundry according to the determined operating course.

The receipt of the purpose data of the laundry may include receiving asignal from an operation unit operated by a user.

The receipt of the purpose data of the laundry may include recognizing aclothing data storage device attached to the laundry, and receiving datafrom the recognized clothing data storage device.

The control method may further include predicting a material of thelaundry, a kind of contamination of the laundry, and an amount ofcontamination of the laundry based on the purpose data of the laundry.

The control method may further include determining at least one of kindsof detergents and amounts of the detergents based on the predictedmaterial of the laundry and the predicted kind and amount ofcontamination.

The control method may further include displaying at least one of thedetermined kinds and amounts of the detergents and the determinedoperating course.

The purpose data of the laundry may include at least one data of a kindof the laundry and a size of the laundry.

The purpose data of the laundry may include, if the kind of the laundrycorresponds to clothing, at least one data of data of a wearer of theclothing, wearing pattern data, and wearing purpose data.

The prediction of the amount of contamination of the laundry may includedetecting a weight of the laundry, and predicting the amount ofcontamination of the laundry based on the weight of the laundry.

The determination of the operating course may include determining atleast one of an amount of wash water, a washing time, an RPM and anoperation factor of a motor during washing, a washing temperature, afrequency of times of rinsing, an amount of rinse water, a spin-dryingvelocity, and a spin-drying time based on the material of the laundryand the kind and amount of contamination.

The control method may further include receiving at least one data ofweather, date, and season data from a user, and predicting at least oneof a material of the laundry, a kind of contamination of the laundry,and an amount of contamination of the laundry based on the at least onedata of the weather, date, and season data.

The control method may further include receiving at least one data ofweather, date, and season data from external equipment throughcommunication, and predicting at least one of a material of the laundry,a kind of contamination of the laundry, and an amount of contaminationof the laundry based on the at least one data of the weather, date, andseason data.

The control method may further include judging at least one data of dateand season data based on timer data, and predicting at least one of amaterial of the laundry, a kind of contamination of the laundry, and anamount of contamination of the laundry based on the at least one data ofthe date and season data.

The control method may further include determining kinds and amounts ofdetergents based on the purpose data of the laundry, and discharging thedetermined amounts of the detergents by adjusting discharge of thedetermined amounts of the detergents.

The determination of the kinds and amounts of the detergents may includepredicting a kind of contamination of the laundry and an amount ofcontamination of the laundry based on the purpose data of the laundry,and determining the kinds and amounts of the detergents based on thepredicted kind and amount of contamination.

The control method may further include detecting a contamination degreeduring control of washing of the laundry according to the determinedoperating course, and adjusting at least one of an RPM and an operationfactor of a motor during a washing cycle, a washing time, a washingtemperature, a frequency of times of a rinsing cycle, an amount of rinsewater, and a spin-drying velocity based on the contamination degree.

The control method may further include detecting a contamination degreeof wash water during the washing cycle, comparing the detectedcontamination degree with a predicted contamination degree, which ispredetermined, and adjusting at least one of the washing cycle and therinsing cycle if the detected contamination degree exceeds the predictedcontamination degree.

The adjustment of at least one of the washing cycle and the rinsingcycle may adjusting at least one of the washing time and the frequencyof times of rinsing, and displaying the adjusted at least one of thewashing time and frequency of times of rinsing.

The control method may further include detecting a contamination degreeof wash water during the washing cycle, comparing the detectedcontamination degree with a first predicted contamination degree, whichis predetermined, and additionally adjusting the washing time during thewashing cycle if the detected contamination degree exceeds the firstpredicted contamination degree.

The control method may further include detecting a contamination degreeof rinse water during the rinsing cycle, comparing the detectedcontamination degree with a second predicted contamination degree, whichis predetermined, and additionally adjusting the frequency of times ofthe rinsing cycle if the detected contamination degree exceeds thesecond predicted contamination degree.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent andmore readily appreciated from the following description of theembodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary view of a washing machine in accordance with oneembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the washing machine in accordancewith the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a control method of the washingmachine in accordance with the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of a washing machine in accordancewith another embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a control method of the washingmachine in accordance with the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary longitudinal-sectional view of a washing machinein accordance with one embodiment. Here, a drum washing machine will beexemplarily described.

The drum washing machine includes a main body 10, a door 20, a tub 30, adrum 40, a motor 50, a water supply device 60, a detergent box 70 and adrain device 80.

The main body 10 forms the external appearance of the drum washingmachine, and an inlet through which laundry is put into and taken out ofthe main body 10 is formed through one surface of the main body 10. Thedoor 20 to open and close the inlet is mounted on the main body 10, anda gasket 25 to seal a gap between the door 20 and the inlet is installedaround the inlet.

The tub 30 is fixedly installed in the main body 10, and receives washwater supplied from the water supply device 60. The motor 50 to rotatethe drum 40 is mounted at the outside of the tub 30.

The drum 40 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the tub 30, and isinstalled in the tub 30. A rotary shaft 45 is mounted on the outersurface of the drum 40, and is extended to the outside of the tub 30 andconnected to the motor 50 mounted at the outside of the tub 30. Thereby,the drum 40 is rotated within the tub 30 in the clockwise orcounterclockwise direction.

One surface of the drum 40 is opened, and the remaining surfaces of thedrum 40 are provided with a plurality of holes. When the door 20 isopened, laundry is put into the drum 40 through the opened surface ofthe drum 40, and wash water is introduced into the drum 40 through theplurality of holes formed through the remaining surfaces of the drum 40.

The motor 50 is rotated when weight of the laundry is sensed and whenthe washing, rinsing, and spin-drying cycles are performed, and thusrotates the drum 40 by means of rotary force generated due to therotation of the motor 50, thereby performing washing, rinsing, andspin-drying of the laundry received in the drum 40.

The water supply device 60 includes water supply pipes 62 and 66 and awater supply valve 64.

Here, the water supply pipe 62 is provided with one end connected to anexternal water supply pipe (not shown) and the other end connected tothe detergent box 70, and receives water supplied from the externalwater supply pipe and then guides the water to the detergent box 70.

The water supply pipe 66 is disposed between the detergent box 70 andthe tub 30, and guides the water supplied from the external water supplypipe to the tub 30 and the drum 40 together with detergents in thedetergent box 70.

The water supply valve 64 is opened and closed during the washing andrinsing cycles, thereby adjusting supply of water to the tub 30 and thedrum 40.

The detergent box 70 stores detergents put into the detergent box 70 bya user. The detergent box 70 serves as a channel into which water isintroduced through the water supply pipe 62 and from which a mixture ofthe introduced water and the detergents is discharged to the watersupply pipe 66.

The detergent box 70 may be provided with a detergent amount adjustmentunit (not shown). Here, the detergent amount adjustment unit (not shown)adjusts amounts of the detergents stored in the detergent box 70, andthen discharges the adjusted amounts of the detergents to the outside ofthe detergent box 70. That is, the detergent amount adjustment unit (notshown) adjusts the amounts of the detergents stored in the detergent box70 and then supplies the adjusted amounts of the detergents into thedrum 40.

The drain device 80 includes a pump 82 and drain pipes 84 and 86. Here,the pump 82 pumps out water in the tub 30 and the drum 40 duringdraining and spin-drying cycles, the drain pipe 84 is provided under thetub 30 such that wash water is introduced into the drain pipe 84 duringpumping-out of the pump 82, and the drain pipe 86 guides the wash water,introduced into the drain pipe 84 during pumping-out of the pump 82, tothe outside of the main body 10, thereby discharging the wash water tothe outside of the main body 10.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the washing machine in accordancewith the embodiment. The washing machine includes an input unit 110, acontrol unit 120, a storage unit 130, a display unit 140, a water supplyvalve drive unit 150, and a motor drive unit 160.

The input unit 110 receives purpose data of laundry and weather, data orseason data, and transmits the received data to the control unit 120.

Here, the purpose data of laundry include kinds of laundry, such asclothing, towels and bedding, and further include data of wearers andwearing purposes and wearing pattern data, in the case of clothing.

Among the purpose data of laundry, clothing includes outdoor clothes,work clothes, ordinary clothes, sportswear, underwear, socks and so onaccording wearing purposes. Further, work clothes include medical gowns,cosmetic gowns, aprons, military uniforms, police uniforms, schooluniforms, dress shirts, repairman uniforms and so on, and sportswearincludes fitness club uniforms, soccer uniforms, mountaineering wear,baseball uniforms and so on.

Here, the wearing purposes of clothing are used to predict both amaterial of laundry and a kind of contamination of the laundry.

Further, accuracy in prediction of the material according to the currentdate or season data may be increased. For example, when a wearingpurpose of laundry representing outdoor clothes is received under thecondition that the current season is winter, the material of thereceived outdoor clothes is predicted to be wool, which is generallyused for winter outdoor clothes.

The wearing pattern data includes data, such as wearing times ofclothing according to seasons prior to washing.

Here, age data is used to judge whether or not a wearer is an infantunder the age of 1, a toddler between the ages of 1 to 6, a child underthe age of 18, or an adult over the age of 18, and serves as a factor todetermine kinds or amounts of detergents used for each age group, topredict a size of clothing, and to recognize a material of the clothing.

Further, since the kind and amount of main contamination are varied dueto a difference between life environments of ages, the age data servesas a factor to predict the kind and amount of contamination.

The purpose data of laundry further include size data of laundry. Here,the size data of laundry is considered when the amount of contaminationis predicted. The size data of laundry may be predicted based on the agedata of the wearer.

Such an input unit 110 may be at least one of an operation unit (notshown) to receive the purpose data directly from a user, a barcoderecognition unit (not shown) to recognize a clothing data storage deviceattached to laundry, i.e., a barcode, a QR code recognition unit torecognize a quick response (QR) code attached to laundry, and an imageunit to obtain an image of laundry.

Here, the operation unit includes a keypad, buttons, or a touch screen.The operation unit receives the purpose data of laundry throughoperation of a user, and then transmits an operation signalcorresponding to the received purpose data to the control unit 120.

The barcode recognition unit recognizes a barcode attached to laundryand then transmits data of the recognized barcode to the control unit120. Here, the barcode attached to the laundry may include a productname, a material, a size, and a washing method of the laundry.Alternatively, the input unit 110 may receive the material of thelaundry directly from the user.

Further, the input unit 110 receives the current date, season andweather data from the user and transmits a signal corresponding to thereceived data to the control unit 120.

The current date, season and weather data may be obtained from a timer(not shown) provided within the washing machine. Alternatively, thecurrent date, season and weather data may be received in real timethrough wired/wireless data communication with external equipment.

The control unit 120 judges a kind of the laundry based on the purposedata of the laundry transmitted from the input unit 110 and predicts amaterial of the laundry and a kind and amount of contamination of thelaundry. Here, the control unit 120 may consider the current date,season and weather data during prediction of the material of the laundryand the kind and amount of contamination of the laundry.

Further, if the barcode recognition unit or the QR code recognition unitis used as the input unit 110, the control unit 120 reads a barcoderecognized by the barcode recognition unit or a QR code recognized bythe QR code recognition unit, finds out the kind, material and size ofthe laundry according to the product name of the laundry and predictsthe kind and amount of contamination based on the above kind, materialand size of the laundry.

Further, if the image unit is used as the input unit 110, the controlunit 120 processes an image obtained from the image unit and predictsthe material and size of the laundry and the kind and amount ofcontamination from the processed image. Here, the size is considered topredict the amount of contamination.

The control unit 120 determines an operating course corresponding to thekind, material and size of the laundry and the kind and amount ofcontamination, controls driving of the display unit 140 so as to displaythe determined operating course and controls driving of the water supplyvalve 64 and the motor 50 based on the determined operating course,thereby performing the washing cycle, the rinsing cycle and thespin-drying cycle corresponding to the determined operating course.

Further, the control unit 120 judges kinds and amounts of detergents anda washing temperature corresponding to the kind and material of thelaundry and the kind and amount of contamination and controls driving ofthe display unit 140 so as to display at least one of the judged kindsand amounts of the detergents and the judged washing temperature.

Thereby, a user puts the corresponding detergents into the detergent box70.

The control unit 120 controls driving of a detergent amount adjustmentunit (not shown) and thus adjusts amounts of the discharged detergents,thereby allowing the corresponding detergents to be discharged from thedetergent box 70 to the drum 40.

Further, the control unit 120 receives the purpose data of the laundrytransmitted from the input unit 110 and controls driving of the motor 50to rotate the drum 40, thereby detecting a weight of the laundry. Then,the control unit 120 predicts an amount of the contamination of thelaundry based on the detected weight of the laundry.

The storage unit 130 stores operating courses set in consideration ofrelationship among kinds of laundries, materials of laundries, kinds ofcontamination and amounts of contamination, and stores kinds ofdetergents, amounts of the detergents and optimum washing temperaturesset in consideration of relationship among the kinds and materials oflaundries and the kinds and amounts of contamination.

Here, the operating course includes at least one data selected frommechanical power during the washing cycle, such as an operation factorof the motor and an RPM of the motor, a wash water temperature, awashing time, an amount of wash water, a frequency of times of rinsing,an amount of rinse water, an intermediate spin-drying velocity, a finalspin-drying velocity, an intermediate spin-drying time and a finalspin-drying time.

The display unit 140 displays the operating course according toinstructions of the control unit 120, displays the amounts and kinds ofthe detergents and the washing temperature and displays a cycle which isbeing performed now, during the operating course.

The water supply valve drive unit 150 transmits an ON or OFF signal tothe water supply valve 64 according to instructions of the control unit120 so as to switch the water supply valve 64 on or off, therebyallowing wash water or rinse water to be supplied into the tub 30 andthe drum 40 during the washing cycle or the rinsing cycle.

Here, an amount of wash water or rinse water supplied into the tub 30and the drum 40 is determined according the material of the laundry andthe kind and amount of contamination.

The motor drive unit 160 transmits a drive signal to the motor 50according to instructions of the control unit 120 to rotate the motor50, thereby allowing the drum 40 to be rotated when the weight of thelaundry is detected or when the washing cycle, the rinsing cycle or thespin-drying cycle is performed.

Here, a washing, rinsing or spin-drying level according to the rotaryforce of the drum 40 is determined according to the material of thelaundry and the kind and amount of contamination.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a control method of the washingmachine in accordance with the embodiment. Hereinafter, the controlmethod will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, when power is supplied to the washing machine, the display unit140 displays a message requesting that purpose data of laundry be input.

Thereafter, the control unit 120 receives the purpose data of thelaundry and weather, date and season data through corresponding buttonsdesigned such that the respective items are received through the buttons(operation 201). Here, the corresponding buttons are provided separatelyfrom buttons displayed on the touch screen or the display unit. Further,the washing machine may receive the purpose data of the laundry throughoperation of the keypad by a user.

Here, the current date and season data may be obtained from the timer(not shown) provided within the washing machine. Here, the currentseason is judged based on the date data obtained from the timer.

Further, the weather, date and season data may be received in real timethrough wired/wireless data communication with external equipment.

The purpose data of laundry received by the control unit 120 includekind data of laundry, such as clothing, towels and bedding, and sizedata of laundry, and further include data regarding ages of wearers,.wearing purposes and wearing pattern, if the kind of laundrycorresponds to clothing.

Among the purpose data of laundry, clothing is divided into outdoorclothes, work clothes, ordinary clothes, sportswear, underwear, socksand so on according wearing purposes. Work clothes are divided intomedical gowns, cosmetic gowns, cooking gowns, military uniforms, policeuniforms, school uniforms, dress shirts, repairman uniforms and so on,and sportswear is divided into fitness club uniforms, soccer uniforms,mountaineering wear, baseball uniforms and so on.

Further, the wearing pattern data includes data regarding a wearing timeof clothing prior to washing.

The purpose data of the laundry may be obtained through a barcoderecognition unit or a QR recognition unit. If the purpose data of thelaundry are received through a barcode or a QR code of the laundry, thebarcode or the QR code of the laundry may be recognized and read and thepurpose data of the laundry corresponding to a product name of thelaundry may be judged.

Further, the purpose data of the laundry may be obtained through animage unit. If the purpose data of the laundry is obtained through theimage unit, the obtained image of the laundry may be processed and thepurpose data of the laundry may be judged from the processed image ofthe laundry.

Thereafter, the control unit 120 predicts a material of the laundrybased on the purpose data of the laundry (operation 202). Here, datastored in the storage unit 130 are used.

For example, if the kind of the laundry corresponds to a towel, thecontrol unit 120 predicts that the material of the laundry is a materialwhich is generally used for towels. Since towels are generally made ofcotton, the control unit 120 predicts that the material of the laundryis cotton.

Further, if the kind of the laundry corresponds to clothing, the controlunit 120 predicts that the material of the laundry is a material, whichis generally used to manufacture the corresponding clothing based on thewearing purpose of the laundry. Here, if the clothing corresponds tomountaineering wear out of sportswear, the control unit 120 predictsthat the material of the laundry is GORE-TEX™, NEOCELL™ or HIPER TEX™.

Further, if the kind of the laundry corresponds to clothing, the controlunit 120 may predict a material of the clothing based on age data. Forexample, if it is judged that a wearer is an infant based on the agedata, the control unit 120 predicts that the material of the clothing iscotton, which is generally used for infant clothing.

If the control unit 120 receives the purpose data of the laundry, thecontrol unit 120 may predict a material of the laundry by analyzingrelationship among at least one data selected from among the currentdate, season and weather data.

For example, if the kind of the laundry corresponds to outdoor clothesunder the condition that the current season is winter, the control unit120 predicts that the material of the laundry is a material, which isgenerally used for winter outdoor clothes. Here, the control unit 120predicts that the material of the laundry is wool.

Thereafter, the control unit 120 predicts a kind of contamination of thelaundry based on the purpose data of the laundry (operation 203).

Here, the control unit 120 judges whether or not the kind ofcontamination is water-soluble, fat-soluble, or likely to be colored.

For example, if the laundry corresponds to a towel to wash a hand or aface, the control unit 120 predicts that the kind of contamination ofthe towel is water or sebum, and if the laundry corresponds to clothingworn by a vehicle repairman, the control unit 120 predicts that the kindof contamination of the clothing is fat-soluble and the clothing islikely to be colored due to food.

Further, if the laundry corresponds to clothing, the control unit 120predicts the kind of contamination according to a difference betweenlife environments of ages based on the age data of a wearer.

For example, if the laundry corresponds to ordinary clothes, the controlunit 120 predicts that the kind of contamination of infant ordinaryclothes is food, soil, or dust and the kind of contamination of adultordinary clothes is sweat.

Thereafter, the control unit 120 predicts an amount of contaminationbased on the purpose data of the laundry (operation 204).

That is, the control unit 120 may predict a size of the laundry throughjudgment as to whether the laundry corresponds to a towel to wash a handor a face, bedding used while asleep, or clothing worn by a wearer, andpredict the amount of contamination from the predicted size.

Hereinafter, various examples to predict the amount of contaminationwill be described.

As one example, the control unit 120 receives size data of the laundryfrom a user and predicts the amount of contamination based on the sizedata of the laundry received from the user.

As another example, if the laundry corresponds to clothing, the controlunit 120 predicts the amount of contamination based on age data of awearer. That is, if the laundry corresponds to sportswear, the controlunit 120 predicts that the amount of contamination is proportional tothe age of the wearer because the size of adult sportswear is greaterthan that of infant sportswear.

As another example, the control unit 120 predicts the amount ofcontamination in consideration of a wearing pattern. That is, the amountof contamination of clothing is proportional to how long the clothing isworn between washes.

As another example, the control unit 120 detects a weight of the laundryand predicts the amount of contamination based on the detected weight ofthe laundry.

As another example, the control unit 120 obtains at least one dataselected from amount the product name, the kind and size of the laundrybased on data stored in the barcode or QR code of the laundry andpredicts the amount of contamination of the laundry based on the atleast one obtained data.

Thereafter, the control unit 120 determines an operating coursecorresponding to the kind and material of the laundry and the kind andamount of contamination (operation 205), and displays the determinedoperating course on the display unit 140.

During determination of the operating course, the control unit 120determines a temperature of wash water corresponding to the material ofthe laundry, determines amounts of the wash water and rinse water,determines respective rotating forces during the washing cycle, therinsing cycle and the spin-drying cycle, and determines a washing timeduring the washing cycle, a rinsing time and a frequency of times of therinsing cycle and a spin-drying level during the spin-drying cycle.

Here, operating courses corresponding to kinds and materials oflaundries and kinds and amounts of contamination are stored in advance.

Further, the control unit 120 judges kinds of detergents based on thekind and material of the laundry and the kind and amount ofcontamination and determines amounts of the detergents based on the kindand material of the laundry and the amount of contamination.

Here, kinds and amounts of detergents corresponding to kinds andmaterials of laundries and kinds and amounts of contamination are storedin advance.

Kinds of detergents include synthetic detergents, oxygen bleaches usedto clear colored clothing, chloride bleaches used to performdisinfection and to remove mold and detergents (neutral detergents) forwool used to perform dry cleaning, fabric softeners and infantdetergents.

During judgment of the kinds of the detergents, the control unit 120 maydetermine kinds or amounts of the detergents in consideration of skinsensitivity of a wearer according to age.

For example, the control unit 120 determines that a small amount of aninfant detergent is used, if the laundry corresponds to infant clothing,determines that both a synthetic detergent and a bleach are used, if thelaundry corresponds to clothing that is likely to be colored, anddetermines that only a detergent for dry cleaning is used, if thelaundry corresponds to clothing that is likely to be colored but is madeof a material, such as nylon, which is faded by a chloride bleach.

Thereafter, the control unit 120 displays the judged kinds and amountsof the detergents on the display unit 140 so that a user recognizesthem. Here, a proper washing temperature is also displayed on thedisplay unit 140. Thereby, the user may select detergents suitable towash the laundry and proper amounts of the detergents.

Further, the control unit 120 may control driving of the detergentamount adjustment unit (not shown) and thus adjust amounts of thedetergents discharged to the inside of the drum 40, thereby allowingproper amounts of the detergents to be supplied to the drum 40. Here,the detergent box 70 may be divided into plural spaces into whichdifferent kinds of detergents are introduced and the detergents storedin the respective spaces are determined in advance.

Accordingly, proper amounts of the detergents are supplied according tothe kind and amount of contamination, as described above, therebypreventing use of excessive amounts of the detergents and preventingpoor washing effects due to insufficient amounts of the detergents.Thereby, the washing effects are improved due to use of the properamounts of the detergents.

Thereafter, when the detergent(s) is/are put into the washing machine,the control unit 120 drives the water supply valve 64 and the motor 50based on the operating course, thereby performing the washing cycle, therinsing cycle and the spin-drying cycle according to the determinedoperating course (operation 206). Here, the control unit 120 displaysthe cycle of the operating course, which is carried out now, through thedisplay unit 140.

As described above, the operating course is determined by judging thematerial of the laundry based on the purpose data of the laundry andpredicting the kind and amount of contamination of the laundry, therebyallowing the laundry to be properly washed according to the purpose ofthe laundry. Further, the laundry is properly washed according to thekind and amount of contamination, thereby improving utility of thewashing machine.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of a washing machine in accordancewith another embodiment. The washing machine in accordance with thisembodiment includes an input unit 310, a control unit 320, a storageunit 330, a display unit 340, a water supply valve drive unit 350, amotor drive unit 360 and a contamination degree detection unit 370. Thatis, the washing machine in accordance with this embodiment furtherincludes the contamination degree detection unit 370 as compared to thewashing machine in accordance with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3.

Here, the input unit 310, the display unit 340, the water supply valvedrive unit 350 and the motor drive unit 360 of this embodiment are thesame as the input unit 110, the display unit 140, the water supply valvedrive unit 150, and the motor drive unit 160 of the former embodiment,and a detailed description thereof will thus be omitted.

The contamination degree detection unit 370 detects a contaminationdegree of laundry and transmits the detected contamination degree to thecontrol unit 320.

The control unit 320 predicts a kind of the laundry, a material of thelaundry, a size of the laundry, a kind of contamination and an amount ofcontamination based on purpose data of the laundry transmitted throughthe operation unit used as the input unit 310. During prediction of thekind and material of the laundry and the kind and amount ofcontamination, the control unit 320 considers the current date, seasonand weather data.

The control unit 320 reads a barcode or QR code data transmitted througha barcode recognition unit or a QR code recognition unit used as theinput unit 310, judges the kind, a material and size of the laundryaccording to the product name of the laundry, judges the purpose of thelaundry according to the kind of the laundry and predicts the kind andamount of contamination based on the judged purpose of the laundry.

The control unit 320 may predict the kind, material and size of thelaundry and the kind and amount of contamination based on an image ofthe laundry obtained through an image unit used as the input unit 310.

Further, the control unit 320 may receive the purpose data of thelaundry from the input unit 310 and then control driving of the motor 50to rotate the drum 40, thereby detecting the weight of the laundry.Thereafter, the control unit 320 may predict the amount of thecontamination of the laundry based on the detected weight of thelaundry.

The control unit 320 determines an operating course corresponding to thekind and material of the laundry and the kind and amount ofcontamination and controls driving of the water supply valve and themotor based on the determined operating course, thereby allowing thewashing cycle, the rinsing cycle and the spin-drying cycle to beperformed according to the determined operating course.

Further, the control unit 320 judges kinds and amounts of detergentscorresponding to the kind and material of the laundry and the kind andamount of contamination and controls driving of the display unit 340 soas to display at least one of the judged kinds and amounts of thedetergents and a washing temperature. Thereby, a user may put thecorresponding detergents into the detergent box 70.

Further, the control unit 320 may control driving of a detergent amountadjustment unit (not shown), thereby allowing the judged amounts of thecorresponding detergents to be discharge to the drum 40.

The control unit 320 judges whether or not a washing time needs to beadjusted based on the contamination degree of the wash water transmittedfrom the contamination degree detection unit 370 during the washingcycle and controls driving of the display unit 340 so that the adjustedwashing time is displayed on the display unit 340.

Here, the adjusted washing time is obtained by adding a predeterminedadjustment time to the current washing time, if the detectedcontamination degree of the wash water exceeds a first predictedcontamination degree, which is predetermined. Here, the first predictedcontamination degree is a predicted contamination degree during thewashing cycle according to the operating course corresponding to thepurpose of the laundry.

Further, the washing time may be additionally adjusted according to adegree by which the detected contamination degree exceeds the firstpredicted contamination degree.

The control unit 320 judges whether or not an additional frequency oftimes of the rinsing cycle needs to be performed based on thecontamination degree of the rinse water transmitted from thecontamination degree detection unit 370 during the rinsing cycle andcontrols driving of the display unit 340 so that the additionalfrequency of times of the rinsing cycle is displayed on the display unit340.

Here, if the detected contamination degree of the rinse water exceeds asecond predicted contamination degree, which is predetermined, one timeof the rinsing cycle is added. Here, the second predicted contaminationdegree is a predicted contamination degree during the rinsing cycleaccording to the operating course corresponding to the purpose of thelaundry. If plural rinsing cycles are performed, second predictedcontamination degrees in the respective rinsing cycles are different.

The frequency of times of the rinsing cycle may additionally be adjustedaccording to a degree by which the detected contamination degree exceedsthe second predicted contamination degree.

The storage unit 330 stores operating courses corresponding torelationship among kinds of laundries, materials of laundries, kinds ofcontamination and amounts of contamination and stores kinds ofdetergents, amounts of detergents and optimum washing temperaturescorresponding to relationship among the kinds of laundries, thematerials of laundries, the kinds of contamination and the amounts ofcontamination.

Here, the operating course includes at least one data selected frommechanical power during the washing cycle, such as an operation factorof the motor and an RPM of the motor, a wash water temperature, awashing time, an amount of wash water, a frequency of times of therinsing cycle, an amount of rinse water, an intermediate spin-dryingvelocity, a final spin-drying velocity, an intermediate spin-drying timeand a final spin-drying time.

The storage unit 330 stores first predicted contamination degrees andsecond predicted contamination degrees according to operating coursescorresponding to the purpose data of laundries.

Here, the first predicted contamination degree is a value predicting adegree at which contaminants of laundry are mixed with the wash waterduring the washing cycle, and the second predicted contamination degreeis a value predicting a degree at which contaminants of laundry aremixed with the rinse water during the rinsing cycle. That is, therespective predicted contamination degrees are determined by the kindand amount of contamination of the laundry, which are predicted based onthe purpose data of the laundry.

The storage unit 330 stores an adjustment time of the washing cyclebased on the detected contamination degree of the wash water during thewashing cycle, and stores an additional frequency of times of therinsing cycle based on the detected contamination degree of the rinsewater during each rinsing cycle.

That is, the storage unit 330 stores an additional washing time to beadded if the detected contamination degree of the wash water exceeds thefirst predicted contamination degree, and stores an additional frequencyof times of the rinsing cycle to be added if the detected contaminationdegree of the rinse water exceeds the second predicted contaminationdegree.

Further, the storage unit 330 may store an additional washing timecorresponding to the degree by which the detected contamination degreeof the wash water exceeds the first predicted contamination degree, andstore an additional washing time corresponding to the degree by whichthe detected contamination degree of the rinse water exceeds the secondpredicted contamination degree.

As described above, the contamination degrees of the wash water and therinse water during the washing cycle and the rinsing cycle are detectedand the washing time and the frequency of times of the rinsing cycle areadjusted based on the detected contaminated degrees, thereby increasingwashing efficiency.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a control method of the washingmachine in accordance with this embodiment. Hereinafter, the controlmethod will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4.

The control unit 320 receives the purpose data of the laundry andweather, date and season data through corresponding buttons to receivethe respective items. Here, the corresponding buttons are providedseparately from buttons displayed on the touch screen or the displayunit. Further, the washing machine may receive the purpose data of thelaundry through operation of the keypad by a user.

Here, the current date and season data may be obtained from the timer(not shown) provided within the washing machine. Here, the currentseason is judged based on the date data obtained from the timer.

Further, the weather, date and season data may be received in real timethrough wired/wireless data communication with external equipment.

The purpose data of laundry received by the control unit 320 includekind data of laundry, such as clothing, towels and bedding, and sizedata of laundry, and further include data regarding ages of wearers,wearing purposes and wearing pattern, if the kind of laundry correspondsto clothing.

Among the purpose data of laundry, clothing is divided into outdoorclothes, work clothes, ordinary clothes, sportswear, underwear, socksand so on according wearing purposes. Work clothes are divided intomedical gowns, cosmetic gowns, cooking gowns, military uniforms, policeuniforms, school uniforms, dress shirts, repairman uniforms and so on,and sportswear is divided into fitness club uniforms, soccer uniforms,mountaineering wear, baseball uniforms and so on.

Further, the wearing pattern data includes data regarding a wearing timeof clothing prior to washing.

Thereafter, the control unit 320 predicts a material of the laundrybased on the purpose data of the laundry.

Here, the control unit 320 may predict the material by comparing thepurpose data of the laundry with data stored in the storage unit 330.

If the kind of the laundry corresponds to clothing, the control unit 320may predict a material of the clothing based on age data, and if thecontrol unit 320 receives the purpose data of the laundry, the controlunit 320 may predict a material of the laundry by analyzing relationshipamong at least one data selected from among the current date, season andweather data.

Thereafter, the control unit 320 predicts a kind of contamination of thelaundry. Here, the control unit 320 judges whether or not the kind ofcontamination is water-soluble, fat-soluble, or likely to be colored.

Further, if the laundry corresponds to clothing, the control unit 320may predict the kind of contamination according to a difference betweenlife environments of ages based on the age data of a wearer.

Thereafter, the control unit 320 predicts an amount of contaminationbased on the purpose data of the laundry.

Here, the amount of contamination may be predicted based on size data ofthe laundry received directly from a user, be predicted in considerationof the clothing wearing pattern having wearing time data prior towashing, or be predicted based on data obtained from a barcode or QRcode of the laundry.

Further, the control unit 320 may detect the weight of the laundry, andpredict the amount of contamination of the laundry based on the detectedweight of the laundry.

Thereafter, the control unit 320 determines an operating coursecorresponding to the kind and material of the laundry and the kind andamount of contamination, and displays the determined operating course onthe display unit 340.

During determination of the operating course, the control unit 320determines a temperature of wash water corresponding to the material ofthe laundry, determines respective rotating forces during the washingcycle, the rinsing cycle and the spin-drying cycle, and determines awashing time during the washing cycle, respective rinsing times and afrequency of times of the rinsing cycle, and a spin-drying level duringthe spin-drying cycle.

Further, the control unit 320 judges kinds of detergents based on thekind and material of the laundry and the kind and amount ofcontamination, and determines amounts of the detergents based on thekind and material of the laundry and the amount of contamination. Here,the judged kinds and amounts of the detergents are displayed on thedisplay unit 340 so that a user recognizes them. Further, a washingtemperature is also displayed on the display unit 340.

Thereafter, the control unit 320 drives the water supply valve 64 andthe motor 50 based on the operating course, thereby allowing the washingcycle, the rinsing cycle, and the spin-drying cycle to be performedaccording to the determined operating course.

When the washing cycle is started (operation 401), the control unit 320detects a contamination degree of wash water during the washing cycle(operation 402), and judges whether or not a washing time needs to beadjusted by analyzing the detected contamination degree of the washwater.

Here, the control unit 320 compares the detected contamination degree ofthe wash water with a first predicted contamination degree (operation403), maintains the washing time if the detected contamination degree ofthe wash water is less than the first predicted contamination degree(operation 404), and performs the washing cycle for the maintainedwashing time and then completes the washing cycle (operation 406).

On the other hand, the control unit 320 adds an additional washing timeto the current washing time so as to adjust the washing time if thedetected contamination degree of the wash water exceeds the firstpredicted contamination degree (operation 405), displays the adjustedwashing time on the display unit 340, and performs the washing cycle forthe adjusted washing time and then completes the washing cycle(operation 406).

Here, the added washing time need to be a set value, and may be a valuein proportion to a degree by which the detected contamination degreeexceeds the first predicted contamination degree.

Thereafter, the control unit 320 drives the drain pump 82 to perform thedraining cycle when the washing cycle is completed, performs theintermediate spin-drying cycle when the draining cycle is completed,perform a water supplying cycle when the intermediate spin-drying cycleis completed, and performs the rinsing cycle when the water supplyingcycle is completed (operation 407).

When the rinsing cycle is started, the control unit 320 detects acontamination degree of rinse water during the rinsing cycle (operation408), and judges whether or not a frequency of times of the rinsingcycle needs to be adjusted by analyzing the detected contaminationdegree of the rinse water.

Here, the control unit 320 compares the detected contamination degree ofthe rinse water with a second predicted contamination degree (operation409), maintains the frequency of times of the rinsing cycle if thedetected contamination degree of the rinse water is less than the secondpredicted contamination degree, and performs the maintained frequency oftimes of the rinsing cycle and then completes the rinsing cycle(operation 410).

On the other hand, the control unit 320 adds one time of the rinsingcycle so as to adjust the frequency of times of the rinsing cycle if thedetected contamination degree of the rinse water exceeds the secondpredicted contamination degree, displays the adjusted frequency of timesof the rinsing cycle on the display unit 340 (operation 411), andperforms the adjusted frequency of times of rinsing cycle and thencompletes the rinsing cycle (operation 410).

Here, an added frequency of times of the rinsing cycle need not be onetime, and may be plural times in proportion to a degree by which thedetected contamination degree exceeds the second predicted contaminationdegree.

Thereafter, the control unit 320 performs the intermediate spin-dryingcycle (operation 412) and drives the drain pump 82 to perform thedraining cycle when the rinsing cycle is completed.

Thereafter, the control unit 320 judges whether or not the justcompleted rinsing cycle is a final rinsing cycle (operation 413). Thecontrol unit 320 restarts the rinsing cycle (operation 407) if it isjudged that the just completed rinsing cycle is not the final rinsingcycle. On the other hand, the control unit 320 performs the finalspin-drying cycle if it is judged that the just completed rinsing cycleis the final rinsing cycle (operation 414).

Further, if the detected contamination degree during the washing cycleexceeds the predicted contamination degree according to the operatingcourse corresponding to the purpose of the laundry, both the washingtime and the frequency of times of the rinsing cycle may be adjusted.

As is apparent from the above description, in a control method of awashing machine in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention, an operating course is determined by confirming a material oflaundry and predicting a kind of contamination of the laundry and anamount of contamination of the laundry based on purpose data of thelaundry, thereby performing proper washing of the laundry according tothe purpose of the laundry whenever washing of the laundry is performed.

Further, proper washing of the laundry is performed according to thekind and amount of contamination of the laundry, thereby improvingutility of the washing machine.

Further, contamination degrees of wash water and rinse water during awashing cycle and a rinsing cycle are detected, and a washing time and afrequency of times of the rinsing cycle are adjusted based on thecontamination degrees, thereby increasing washing efficiency.

Moreover, proper amounts of detergents according to the kind and amountof contamination of the laundry are supplied based on the purpose dataof the laundry, thereby preventing use of excessive amounts of thedetergents and preventing poor washing effects due to insufficientamounts of the detergents. Thereby, the washing effects are improvedthrough use of the proper amounts of the detergents.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in these embodiments without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

1. A control method of a washing machine comprising: receiving purposedata of laundry; determining an operating course based on the purposedata of the laundry; and controlling washing of the laundry according tothe determined operating course.
 2. The control method according toclaim 1, wherein the receipt of the purpose data of the laundry includesreceiving a signal from an operation unit operated by a user.
 3. Thecontrol method according to claim 1, wherein the receipt of the purposedata of the laundry includes: recognizing a clothing data storage deviceattached to the laundry; and receiving data from the recognized clothingdata storage device.
 4. The control method according to claim 1, furthercomprising predicting a material of the laundry, a kind of contaminationof the laundry, and an amount of contamination of the laundry based onthe purpose data of the laundry.
 5. The control method according toclaim 4, further comprising determining at least one of kinds ofdetergents and amounts of the detergents based on the predicted materialof the laundry and the predicted kind and amount of contamination. 6.The control method according to claim 5, further comprising displayingat least one of the determined kinds and amounts of the detergents andthe determined operating course.
 7. The control method according toclaim 4, wherein the purpose data of the laundry includes at least onedata of a kind of the laundry and a size of the laundry.
 8. The controlmethod according to claim 7, wherein the purpose data of the laundryincludes, if the kind of the laundry corresponds to clothing, at leastone data of data of a wearer of the clothing, wearing pattern data, andwearing purpose data.
 9. The control method according to claim 4,wherein the prediction of the amount of contamination of the laundryincludes: detecting a weight of the laundry; and predicting the amountof contamination of the laundry based on the weight of the laundry. 10.The control method according to claim 4, wherein the determination ofthe operating course includes determining at least one of an amount ofwash water, a washing time, an RPM and an operation factor of a motorduring washing, a washing temperature, a frequency of times of rinsing,an amount of rinse water, a spin-drying velocity, and a spin-drying timebased on the material of the laundry and the kind and amount ofcontamination.
 11. The control method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving at least one data of weather, date, and seasondata from a user; and predicting at least one of a material of thelaundry, a kind of contamination of the laundry, and an amount ofcontamination of the laundry based on the at least one data of theweather, date, and season data.
 12. The control method according toclaim 1, further comprising: receiving at least one data of weather,date, and season data from external equipment through communication; andpredicting at least one of a material of the laundry, a kind ofcontamination of the laundry, and an amount of contamination of thelaundry based on the at least one data of the weather, date, and seasondata.
 13. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:judging at least one data of date and season data based on timer data;and predicting at least one of a material of the laundry, a kind ofcontamination of the laundry, and an amount of contamination of thelaundry based on the at least one data of the date and season data. 14.The control method according to claim 1, further comprising: determiningkinds and amounts of detergents based on the purpose data of thelaundry; and discharging the determined amounts of the detergents byadjusting discharge of the determined amounts of the detergents.
 15. Thecontrol method according to claim 14, wherein the determination of thekinds and amounts of the detergents includes: predicting a kind ofcontamination of the laundry and an amount of contamination of thelaundry based on the purpose data of the laundry; and determining thekinds and amounts of the detergents based on the predicted kind andamount of contamination.
 16. The control method according to claim 1,further comprising: detecting a contamination degree during control ofwashing of the laundry according to the determined operating course; andadjusting at least one of an RPM and an operation factor of a motorduring a washing cycle, a washing time, a washing temperature, afrequency of times of a rinsing cycle, an amount of rinse water, and aspin-drying velocity based on the contamination degree.
 17. The controlmethod according to claim 16, further comprising: detecting acontamination degree of wash water during the washing cycle; comparingthe detected contamination degree with a predicted contamination degree,which is predetermined; and adjusting at least one of the washing cycleand the rinsing cycle if the detected contamination degree exceeds thepredicted contamination degree.
 18. The control method according toclaim 17, wherein the adjustment of at least one of the washing cycleand the rinsing cycle includes: adjusting at least one of the washingtime and the frequency of times of rinsing; and displaying the adjustedat least one of the washing time and frequency of times of rinsing. 19.The control method according to claim 16, further comprising: detectinga contamination degree of wash water during the washing cycle; comparingthe detected contamination degree with a first predicted contaminationdegree, which is predetermined; and additionally adjusting the washingtime during the washing cycle if the detected contamination degreeexceeds the first predicted contamination degree.
 20. The control methodaccording to claim 16, further comprising: detecting a contaminationdegree of rinse water during the rinsing cycle; comparing the detectedcontamination degree with a second predicted contamination degree, whichis predetermined; and additionally adjusting the frequency of times ofthe rinsing cycle if the detected contamination degree exceeds thesecond predicted contamination degree.